Apparatus for distributing material to reduce evaporation from water storages



Nov. 15, 1966 c. s. ROBERTSON 3,285,692

APPARATUS FOR DISTRIBUTING MATERIAL TO REDUCE EVAPORATION FROM WATERSTORAGES Filed May 24, 1960 x 1 l I United States Patent 3,285,692APPARATUS FOR DISTRIBUTING MATERIAL T0 lgEGDlslCE EVAPORATION FROM WATERSTOR- E Colin Scott Robertson, P.O. Box 369, Broken Hill, New SouthWales, Australia Filed May 24, 1960, Ser. No. 56,076 Claims priority,application Australia, May 26, 1959, 49,197/59 3 Claims. (Cl. 21-61)This invention relates to an apparatus for reducing the rate ofevaporation from water storages and refers particularly to an apparatusfor producing'a stream of fine particles of amlphipathic materials whichare sparingly soluble or insoluble in water and which spreadspontaneously on the surface of the water to form films capable ofreducing the rate of evaporation.

It has been recently proposed to reduce the rate of evaporation fromwater storages by projecting into the air a stream of particles ofhexadecanol and/or octadecanol of average size not greater than about0.2 mm. and allowing the particles of this stream to fall upon thesurface of the water whereby a multiplicity of spreading points isformed from which the hexadecanol and/or octadecano'l can spreadspontaneously to form a continuous film upon the water surface. Thespreading capacity under these conditions is large, and excellentcoverage may be achieved over a wide area.

It is an object of this invention to provide an apparatus for use inconnection with the above described method, and which is operative bothto grind solid hexadecanol and/or octadecanol and to blow the resultingpowder onto the water surface, at the site of its use, thereby to avoidthe necessity of transporting the powdered material.

Another object is to provide an apparatus of the described characterwhich is suitable for transportation by boat or. aircraft on or overdams or reservoirs.

The above, and other objects, [features and advantages of theinvention,- will be apparent in the following detailed description of anillustrative embodiment which is to be read in connection with theaccompanying drawings, wherein:

FIGURE 1 of the accompanying drawings is an end view of the apparatuswith an end cover removed, and

FIGURE 2 is a sectional view taken along the line 2-2 in FIGURE 1.

The device illustrated in the drawings comprises a spindle 1 on which ismounted a cylindrical wire wheel type brush consisting of a series ofspaced annular stock members 2 of channel section carrying closelypacked wire bristles 3. The spindle is provided at one end with a bore 4which communicates with a reduced bore 5 at the other end of thespindle, the bore 4 of greater width occupying the major portion of thelength of the spindle. A grub screw 21 is provided in the spindle for apurpose hereinafter referred to. The external profile of the spindle isstepped so as to provide an annular shoulder 6 disposed adjacent to theinner end of the bore 4'. Axial-flow fans 7, 17 are mounted at the endsof the spindle adjacent the brush assembly so as to be rotatable inunison with the spindle 1. Each fan is cut and formed trom a singlepiece of sheet metal, the blades being of such form that on rotation ofthe spindle an air current is caused to move inwardly towards the centreof the brush assembly ctrom each end of the spindle. Each .fan ismounted on the por- 'ice clamped between a retaining collar 9 on thespindle and a washer 10.

As the annular stock members 2 are merely slid into position on thenarrower end of the spindle 1 it is necessary to provide means whichwill cause the bristles to rotate in unison with the spindle and this isbrought about by inserting pins 11 through holes in the collar 9,washers 10, 8, stock members 2 and shoulder 6.

The brush is assembled by sliding the various annular stock members 2 onto the narrower portion of the spindle after the fan 7 and the washer 8have been placed in position on the spindle and the assembly iscompleted by also placing on the spindle the washer 10 and fan 17,inserting the pins 11 through the openings in the various components andfinally securing the collar 9 on the outer end of the spindle by grubscrews or other suitable means, the ends of the pins being located inrecesses provided [for that purpose in the shoulder 6 and collar 9.

Fro-m FIGURE 2 it will be apparent that as the bristles divergeoutwardly away =from the stock members 2, spaces will exist between thestock members along the spindle and holes 12 are drilled through thespindle at right angles to the axis thereof so as to coincide with thespaces between the stock members. The holes are drilled so that eachwill be at right angles to its neighbour.

The brush assembly is located in use within a casing indicated generallyat 13, such casing having a central cylindrical portion 14 and removableend covers -15, 16 which are held in place on the central portion bymeans of correspondingly placed pimples 18 on the parts. The centralportion of the casing is provided at its upper end with a vertical feedhopper 19 which communicates with the interior of the casing above thebrush assembly. The central portion of the casing is also provided witha rearwardly extending outlet tube 20 disposed at right angles to thehopper 19, the outlet tube also communicating with the interior of thecasing in the vicinity of the upper portion of the brush assembly and insuch a position that the axes of the outlet tube and the hopper aredisposed in the same vertical plane. As will be seen from FIGURE 1 theaxis X of the feed hopper is located forwardly of the axis on? thespindle 1, that is, offset from the radial plane Y extending from theaxis of spindle 1 parallel to the axis X at the side of such plane Yaway from the opening of outlet tube 20 communicating with the interiorof casing :13. Thus, with hopper 19 disposed vertically, as

' shown, the ends of the wire bristles which pass below tion of thespindle which is of reduced diameter, the fan i the lower end of theteed hopper in use have an upward component of motion. The end covers15, 16 are provided with centrally located openings 15a, 16arespectively of substantial diameter, the opening 16a being at leastsomewhat larger than the diameter of the shoulder portion 6 of thespindle.

In use of the device, the narrower bore 5 of the hollow spindle ismounted directly on to the shaft of an internal combustion engine and issecured thereon by tightening the grub screw 21, the brush and fanassembly being wholly supported by the shaft. The casing is mounted soas to enclose the brush and fan assembly, but the latter assembly is inno way supported by or connected to the casing.

In order to make use of the device, the brush and fan assembly is causedto rotate by means of the internal combustion engine at a speed whichmay vary from be tween about 2,000 to 5,000 r.p.m., the preferred speedbeing in the vicinity of 3,000 rpm. The direction ofv rotation of thebrush assembly is such that the upper ends of the bristles move in adirection so as to pass from the base of the feed hopper 19 towards theinner end of the outlet tube 20. To project a stream of finelydividedparticles of hexadecanol on to a water surface in accordance withthe invention, a preformed block of material having a cross-section suchthat it will fit neatly into the hopper, is pressed downwardly by handthrough the feed hopper 19 on to the upper ends of the wire bristles andthe rubbing action of the latter on the block will cause disintegrationof the block into small particles which will mainly consist of particlesof a size not greater than 0.2 rnm., such particles being emitted fromthe casing through the outlet tube 20 which should be arranged so as notto obstruct the natural path of projection of the particles as they areflung ofl? from the bristles. Because of the asymmetric mounting of thefeed hopper 19 on the casing, the last portion of a block which is fedtowards the brush by pressure from a further block in the hopper, isheld in the grinding position by the motion of the brush untilsubstantially all of it is consumed so that any portion of the blockwhich finally escapes through the outlet tube without being ground issmall.

Owing to the presence of the fans 7, 17 at both ends of the brushassembly, rotation of the assembly will induce a draught into theinterior of the brush through the openings a, 16a in the casing and theforced draught will then pass out from the casing through the outlettube along with the fine particles of hexadecanol, thus increasing thevelocity with which such particles leave the outlet tube and so causethe particles to be projected from the device for a greater distancethan would otherwise be the case in the absence of such forced draught.To prevent blow-back of air through the hopper, a resilient rubber orplastic sleeve may be fitted to the top of the hopper to provide asubstantially air-tight seal around the block.

To facilitate distribution of the particles from the apparatus, anelongated delivery tube may be connected to the outlet tube by means ofa flexible coupling.

Air will aso be caused to enter the interior of the hollow spindle andwill pass outwardly therefrom through the holes 12 thus furtheraugmenting the velocity for projection of the hexadecanol particles.Thus in the absence of wind, particles of a fineness required by thepresent invention can readily be projected to a distance of 20 feet ormore and in windy conditions it may be necessary to depress the deliverytube somewhat in order to reduce the tendency of the particles to becomewind-borne to such :an extent that they are carried away from the areabeing treated.

It will be apparent that a device of the type described above can beoperated very readily by a single person and that it enables the directuse of commercially available material without prior treatment otherthan forming into blocks of suitable size. It will also be apparent thatthe circulation of air through the spindle and brush assembly willgreatly assist in keeping the parts cool during operation of the device.

Reference has been made above to the use of hexadecanol in block form,but the device can of course be elfectively used with other materialssuch as octadecanol, mixtures of hexadecanol and octadecanol and othersimilar materials.

We claim:

1. Apparatus for producing a stream of fine particles from a block ofamphipathic material comprising a hollow spindle rotatable about asubstantially horizontal axis, said spindle being open at one end andhaving spaced apart radial openings, a cylindrical brush assemblysecured on said spindle and made up of spaced bundles of stifi bristlesbetween which said radial openings of the spindle are located, a casingdisposed about said brush assembly and having air inlet openingsadjacent the opposed ends of said spindle, which air inlet openings arecoaxial with said spindle, a feed hopper extending from the upperportion of said casing and communicating at its base with the interiorof said casing above the upper portion of said brush assembly, the axisof said hopper being substantially parallel to a radial plane extendingfrom said axis of the spindle, an outlet tube extending from said casingsubstantially at right angles to said hopper and having an openingcommunicating with said interior of the casing adjacent said base of thehopper, the axes of said hopper and outlet tube lying substantially in acommon plane which is perpendicular to said axis of the spindle, meanscoupled to said spindle at the end thereof remote from said one open endand being operative in use to rotate said spindle and brush assembly inthe direction moving the ends of said bristles at the upper portion ofthe brush assembly past said base of the hopper toward said opening ofthe outlet tube to abrade fine particles from the lower end of a blockof amphipathic material pressed in said hopper toward said brushassembly and to propel said fine particles tangentially from said brushassembly through said outlet tube, and fan elements secured on each endof said spindle and operative upon rotation of the latter to draw airinto said interior of said casing through said inlet openings, causing.the air to move inwardly towards the center of the brush assembly fromeach end of the spindle and further inducing the movement of air intosaid open end of the spindle and out of the latter through said radialopenings past said bristles for discharge through said outlet tube alongwith said fine particles.

2. Apparatus according to claim 1; wherein said axis of the hopper isoifset from said radial plane extending from said axis of the spindle,and said opening of the outlet tube lies at the side of said radialplane opposite to the side of said offset of the axis of the hopper fromsaid radial plane.

3. Apparatus for producing a stream of fine particles from a block ofamphipathic material comprising a hollow spindle rotatable about asubstantially horizontal axis, said spindle being open at one end andhaving spaced apart radial openings, a cylindrical wire brush assemblysecured on said spindle and made up of spaced bundles of wire bristlesbetween which said radial openings of the spindle are located, a casingdisposed about said brush assembly and having air inlet openingsadjacent the opposed ends of said spindle, which air inlet openings arecoaxial with said spindle, a substantially upright feed hoppercommunicating at its base with the interior of said casing above theupper portion of said brush assembly, an outlet tube extending from saidcasing substantially at right angles to said hopper and having anopening communicating with said interior of the casing in the vicinityof said upper portion of the brush assembly, the axes of said hopper andoutlet tube lying substantially in a common plane which is perpendicularto the axis of said spindle, said axis of the hopper and said opening ofthe outlet tube lying at opposite sides of an upwardly directed radialplane passing through said axis of the spindle and being substantiallyparallel to said axis of the hopper, means coupled to said spindle atthe end thereof remote from said one open end and being operative in useto rotate said spindle and brush assembly in the direction moving theends of said bristles at the upper portion of the brush assembly frombelow said base of the feed hopper toward said opening of the outlettube with said ends of the bristles which pass below said base of thefeed hopper having an upward component of motion to abrade fineparticles from the lower end of a block of amphipathic material presseddownwardly in said hopper and to propel said fine particles through saidoutlet tube, and fan elements secured on each end of said spindle andoperative upon rotation of the latter to draw air into said interior ofsaid casing through said inlet openings, causing the air to moveinwardly towards the center of the brush assembly from each end of thespindle and further inducing the movement of air into said open end ofthe spindle and out of the latter through said radial openings past saidwire bristles for discharge through said outlet tube along with saidfine particles.

(References 011 following page) References Cited by the Examiner UNITEDSTATES PATENTS 6 OTHER REFERENCES Timblin, Lake Hefner Report, Oct.13-17, 1957, page 5.

Williams 2 X MORRIS 0. WOLK, Primary Examiner.

Gardner X 5 DONALL H. SYLVESTER, WILLIAM B. KNIGHT, Snow 241 3Examiners. Treloar 21-61 s. ROSEN, E. SZOKE, I. T. ZATARGA,

Dressler 21-605 Assistant Examiners.

1. APPARATUS FOR PRODUCING A STREAM OF FINE PARTICLES FROM A BLOCK OFAMPHIPATHIC MATERIAL COMPRISING A HOLLOW SPINDLE ROTATABLE ABOUT ASUBSTANTIALLY HORIZONTAL AXIS SAID SPINDLE BEING OPEN AT ONE END ANDHAVING SPACED APART RADIAL OPENINGS, A CYLINDRICAL BRUSH ASSEMBLYSECURED ON SAID SPINDLE AND MADE UP OF SPACED BUNDLES OF STIFF BRISTLESBETWEEN WHICH SAID RADIAL OPENINGS OF THE SPINDLE ARE LOCATED, A CASINGDISPOSED ABOUT SAID BRUSH ASSEMBLY AND HAVING AIR INLET OPENINGSADJACENT THE OPPOSED ENDS OF SAID SPINDLE, WHICH AIR INLET OPENINGS ARECOAXIAL WITH SAID SPINDLE, A FEED HOPPER EXTENDING FROM THE UPPERPORTION OF SAID CASING AND COMMUNICATING AT ITS BASE WITH THE INTERIOROF SAID CASING ABOE THE UPPER PORTION OF SAID BRUSH ASSEMBLY, THE AXISOF SAID HOPPER BEING SUBSTANTIALLY PARALLEL TO A RADIAL PLANE EXTENDINGFROM SAID AXIS OF THE SPINDLE, AN OUTLET TUBE EXTENDING FROM SAID CASINGSUBSTANTIALLY AT RIGHT ANGLES TO SAID HOPPER AND HAVING AN OPENINGCOMMUNICATING WITH SAID INTERIOR OF THE CASING ADJACENT SAID BASE OF THEHOPPER THE AXES OF SAID HOPPER AND OUTLET TUBE LYING SUBSTANTIALLY IN ACOMMON PLANE WHICH IS PERPENDICULAR TO SAID AXIS OF THE SPINDLE MEANSCOUPLED TO SAID SPINDLE AT THE END THEREOF REMOTE FROM SAID ONE OPEN ENDAND BEING OPERA-